Editing Built environment (section)

== Impact ==
The term built environment encompasses a broad range of categories, all of which have potential impacts. When looking at these potential impacts, the environment, as well as people, are heavily affected.

=== Health ===
The built environment can heavily impact the public's health. Historically, unsanitary conditions and overcrowding within cities and urban environments have led to infectious diseases and other health threats.<ref name=":14">{{Cite journal |last1=Perdue |first1=Wendy Collins |last2=Stone |first2=Lesley A. |last3=Gostin |first3=Lawrence O. |date=September 2003 |title=The Built Environment and Its Relationship to the Public's Health: The Legal Framework |journal=American Journal of Public Health |volume=93 |issue=9 |pages=1390–1394 |doi=10.2105/ajph.93.9.1390 |issn=0090-0036 |pmc=1447979 |pmid=12948949}}</ref> Dating back to [[Georges-Eugène Haussmann|Georges-Eugene Haussmann]]'s comprehensive plans for urban Paris in the 1850s, concern for lack of air-flow and sanitary living conditions has inspired many strong city planning efforts. During the 19th century in particular, the connection between the built environment and public health became more apparent as life expectancy decreased and diseases, as well as epidemics, increased.<ref name=":14" /> Today, the built environment can expose individuals to pollutants or toxins that cause chronic diseases like [[asthma]], [[diabetes]], and coronary vascular disease, along with many others.<ref name=":14" /> There is evidence to suggest that chronic disease can be reduced through healthy behaviors like a proper active lifestyle, good nutrition, and reduced exposure to toxins and pollutants.<ref name=":14" /> Yet, the built environment is not always designed to facilitate those healthy behaviors. Many urban environments, in particular suburbs, are automobile reliant, making it difficult or unreasonable to walk or bike to places. This condition not only adds to pollution, but can also make it hard to maintain a proper active lifestyle. Public health research has expanded the list of concerns associated with the built environment to include [[healthy diet|healthy]] [[food security|food access]], [[community gardening|community garden]]s, [[mental health]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Assari, A Birashk, B Nik, M Mousavi Naghdbishi, R |year=2016 |title=IMPACT OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT ON MENTAL HEALTH: REVIEW OF TEHRAN CITY IN IRAN |journal=International Journal on Technical and Physical Problems of Engineering |volume=8 |issue=26 |pages=81–87}}</ref> [[physical health]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Boncinelli |first1=Fabio |last2=Riccioli |first2=Francesco |last3=Marone |first3=Enrico |date=May 2015 |title=Do forests help to keep my body mass index low? |journal=Forest Policy and Economics |volume=54 |pages=11–17 |doi=10.1016/j.forpol.2015.02.003 |issn=1389-9341|hdl=11568/936732 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sander |first1=Heather A. |last2=Ghosh |first2=Debarchana |last3=Hodson |first3=Cody B. |date=August 2017 |title=Varying age-gender associations between body mass index and urban greenspace |journal=Urban Forestry & Urban Greening |volume=26 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.1016/j.ufug.2017.05.016 |issn=1618-8667 |pmc=5716478 |pmid=29225562}}</ref> [[walkability]], and [[cycling mobility]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Lee |first=V |author2=Mikkelsen, L |author3=Srikantharajah, J |author4=Cohen, L |title=Strategies for Enhancing the Built Environment to Support Healthy Eating and Active Living |url=http://www.preventioninstitute.org/component/jlibrary/article/id-60/127.htm |access-date=29 April 2012 |work=Prevention Institute}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Designing areas of cities with good public health is linked to creating opportunities for physical activity, community involvement, and equal opportunity within the built environment. Urban forms that encourage physical activity and provide adequate public resources for involvement and upward mobility are proven to have far healthier populations than those that discourage such uses of the built environment.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Frank |first1=Lawrence D. |last2=Engelke |first2=Peter O. |date=2001-11-01 |title=The Built Environment and Human Activity Patterns: Exploring the Impacts of Urban Form on Public Health |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/08854120122093339 |journal=Journal of Planning Literature |language=en |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=202–218 |doi=10.1177/08854120122093339 |issn=0885-4122 |s2cid=153978150|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Social ===

==== Housing and segregation ====
Features in the built environment present physical barriers which constitute the boundaries between [[Neighbourhood|neighborhoods]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kramer|first=Rory|date=2017|title=Defensible Spaces in Philadelphia: Exploring Neighborhood Boundaries Through Spatial Analysis|journal=RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences|volume=3|issue=2|pages=81–101|doi=10.7758/rsf.2017.3.2.04|jstor=10.7758/rsf.2017.3.2.04|s2cid=149167954|issn=2377-8253|doi-access=free}}</ref> Roads and [[Rail transport|railways]], for instance, play a large role in how people can feasibly navigate their environment.<ref name=":4">Roberto, Elizabeth and Jackelyn Hwang. 2017. "Barriers to Integration: Physical Boundaries and the Spatial Structure of Residential Segregation." Working paper, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.</ref> This can result in the isolation of certain communities from various resources and from each other.<ref name=":4" /> The placement of roads, highways, and sidewalks also determines what access people have to jobs and childcare close to home, especially in areas where most people do not own vehicles. Walkability directly influences community, so the way a neighborhood is built affects the outcomes and opportunities of the community that lives there.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news |last=Pando |first=Patricia |date=2011 |title=In the Nickel, Houston's Fifth Ward |work=Houston History Magazine |url=https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Fifth-Ward.pdf}}</ref> Even less physically imposing features, such as [[Building design|architectural design]], can distinguish the boundaries between communities and decrease movement across neighborhood lines.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Small|first=Mario Luis|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226762937.001.0001|title=Villa Victoria|date=2004|publisher=University of Chicago Press|doi=10.7208/chicago/9780226762937.001.0001|isbn=978-0-226-76292-0}}</ref>

The segregation of communities is significant because the qualities of any given space directly impact the [[Well-being|wellbeing]] of the people who live and work there.<ref name=":1" /> [[George Galster]] and [[Patrick Sharkey]] refer to this variation in geographic context as "spatial opportunity structure", and claim that the built environment influences socioeconomic outcomes and general welfare.<ref name=":1" /> For instance, the history of redlining and housing segregation means that there is less green space in many Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Access to parks and green space has been proven to be good for mental health which puts these communities at a disadvantage.<ref name=":5" /> The historical segregation has contributed to environmental injustice, as these neighborhoods suffer from hotter summers since urban asphalt absorbs more heat than trees and grass.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last1=Plumer |first1=Brad |last2=Popovich |first2=Nadja |last3=Palmer |first3=Brian |date=2020-08-24 |title=How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Neighborhoods Sweltering |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/24/climate/racism-redlining-cities-global-warming.html |access-date=2021-03-29 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The effects of spatial segregation initiatives in the built environment, such as redlining in the 1930s and 1940s, are long lasting. The inability to feasibly move from forcibly economically depressed areas into more prosperous ones creates fiscal disadvantages that are passed down generationally.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Aaronson|first1=Daniel|last2=Hartley|first2=Daniel|last3=Mazumder|first3=Bhashkar|date=November 2021|title=The Effects of the 1930s HOLC "Redlining" Maps|url=https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pol.20190414|journal=American Economic Journal: Economic Policy|language=en|volume=13|issue=4|pages=355–392|doi=10.1257/pol.20190414|s2cid=204505153|issn=1945-7731|hdl=10419/200568|hdl-access=free}}</ref> With proper public education access tied to the economic prosperity of a neighborhood, many formerly redlined areas continue to lack educational opportunities for residents and, thus, job and higher-income opportunities are limited.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Case|first=Anne|title=Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism|publisher=The Princeton University Press|year=2020|isbn=9780691190785|location=Princeton, NJ|language=English}}</ref>

=== Environmental ===
The built environment has a multitude of impacts on the planet, some of the most prominent effects are greenhouse gas emissions and Urban Heat Island Effect.<ref>{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OW |date=2015-10-01 |title=Reduce Urban Heat Island Effect |url=https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/reduce-urban-heat-island-effect |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=www.epa.gov |language=en}}</ref>

The built environment expands along with factors like population and consumption which directly impact the output of greenhouse gases. As cities and urban areas grow, the need for transportation and structures grows as well. In 2006, transportation accounted for 28% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.<ref name=":15">{{Cite journal |last1=Younger |first1=Margalit |last2=Morrow-Almeida |first2=Heather R. |last3=Vindigni |first3=Stephen M. |last4=Dannenberg |first4=Andrew L. |date=2008-11-01 |title=The Built Environment, Climate Change, and Health: Opportunities for Co-Benefits |url=https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(08)00682-X/abstract |journal=American Journal of Preventive Medicine |language=English |volume=35 |issue=5 |pages=517–526 |doi=10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.017 |pmid=18929978 |s2cid=35151432 |issn=0749-3797|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Building's design, location, orientation, and construction process heavily influence greenhouse gas emissions.<ref name=":15" /> Commercial, industrial, and residential buildings account for roughly 43% of U.S. {{CO2}} emissions in energy usage.<ref name=":15" /> In 2005, agricultural land use accounted for 10–12% of total human-caused greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.<ref name=":15" />

[[Urban heat island]]s are pockets of higher temperature areas, typically within cities, that effect the environment, as well as quality of life.<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OAR |date=2014-06-17 |title=Learn About Heat Islands |url=https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/learn-about-heat-islands |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=www.epa.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OAR |date=2014-06-17 |title=Heat Island Impacts |url=https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/heat-island-impacts |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=www.epa.gov |language=en}}</ref> Urban Heat Islands are caused by reduction of natural landscape in favor of urban materials like asphalt, concrete, brick, etc.<ref name=":16" /> This change from natural landscape to urban materials is the epitome of the built environment and its expansion.